Belt for a conveyor

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to belt ( 1 ) for a conveyor. The inventive belt is made of rubber or a plastic similar to rubber and is provided with incorporated traction carriers ( 2 ) in the form of cables or cords that are made of steel. The inventive conveyor belt comprises, in relation to its total width (B), a center part (A) and two side parts (A′). The invention is characterized in that the center part (A) is interchangeable as a result of a joint ( 4 ) between both side parts ( 1 ′). Various embodiments of said joint ( 1 ) are described.

The invention relates to a conveyor belt made of rubber or a plasticmaterial similar to rubber, with embedded traction carriers inparticular in the form of cables or cords which, in turn, particularlyare made of steel, whereby the conveyor belt comprises with respect toits total width a center part and two side parts (DE-A-44 33 755;DE-A-44 36 042).

The center part of a conveyor belt is, in the normal case, stressed to ahigher degree than the two side parts. Now, when the center part wasworn or damaged, it was necessary heretofore, as a rule, to replace theentire conveyor belt, whereas it was possible to continue to use otherparts of the conveyor installation.

Laid-open patent DE-B-1 148 81 describes a hose conveyor beltinstallation in connection with which it is possible, in a reversed way,to replace the longitudinal profiled strips—which are susceptible towear—by means of detachable pull-out elements, whereas the conveyor beltis used further.

Now, with the conveyor belt as defined by the invention andcharacterized in claim 1, it is possible to remove a worn or damagedcenter part of a conveyor belt and to replace said center part by a newone, using a joint. The two side parts, however, are used furtherwithout being replaced.

With respect to the joint between the center part and the two side partsof the conveyor belt, use is advantageously made of the followingvariations:

Variation I

The center part is mechanically joined with the two side parts,specifically on the basis of a plug-groove principle. The designvariations that are useful in this regard are described as follows:

The plug-groove principle is realized in such a way that the groove andthe corresponding plug part are aligned in the direction of the carrying(top) side or running (bottom) side of the conveyor belt. The groove andthe corresponding plug part each have a substantial trapezoidal crosssectional shape, or said parts change into each other substantially inthe form of a wave.

Reinforcing materials consisting of steel or synthetic materials areadvantageously present within the zone of the joint. The reinforcementmay be an angle-shaped part that extends in the longitudinal directionof the conveyor belt, such shaped part being usefully made from steelfabric. Another possibility is to realize the reinforcement in such away that it consists of at least one cable or cord extending in thelongitudinal direction of the conveyor belt.

The plug-groove principle is realized in such a way that the groove andthe corresponding plug part are aligned in the direction of the centerpart or side parts, preferably in the direction of the center part. Thegroove and the corresponding plug part extend in this connectionsubstantially in the form of a wedge, whereby the deepest point of thegroove or the peak of the plug part are approximately located at thelevel of the center plane of the conveyor belt, said plane extendingparallel with the carrying or running side of the conveyor belt.

Irrespective of the possibilities introduced above for realizing thejoint, the effectiveness of the mechanical joint of the center part withthe two side parts can be increased within the zone of the joint bymeans of cold gluing or hot vulcanization.

Variation II

The joint of the center part with the two side parts is produced bymeans of a groove, which is located within the zone of the joint andextends from the carrying and/or running side of the conveyor belt inthe direction of the center plane of the conveyor belt, said centerplane extending parallel with the carrying or running side, whereby thegroove is filled with a compound that can be vulcanized. The grooveadvantageously extends substantially in the form of a wedge.

Entirely irrespective of the variations introduced above, the conveyorbelt as defined by the invention is usefully characterized also by thefollowing design possibilities:

The joint between the center part and the two side parts is designed insuch a way that a smooth surface is produced in the site of the joint inrelation to the carrying side and the running side of the conveyor belt.

The center part has a width amounting to 0.3 to 0.8 times the overallwidth of the conveyor belt.

The traction carriers are located either in the two side parts or in thecenter part. The traction carriers are advantageously arrangedexclusively in the two side parts, whereas the center part, which issubstantially free of traction carriers, has an embedded conveyor beltcarrier that particularly consists of a fabric. The number of fabriclayers of the conveyor belt amounts to between 1 and 6. Polyamide,polyester, synthetic silk (rayon), rayon, cotton, aramide or steel areused as materials for said fabric; however, a fabric consisting of amixture of said materials can be employed as well.

Now, the invention is explained in the following with the help ofexemplified embodiments and by reference to schematic drawings (crosssectional representations), in which:

FIG. 1 shows a conveyor belt with a joint based on a plug-grooveprinciple, using an angle-shaped part as the reinforcement of the zoneof the joint.

FIG. 2 shows a conveyor belt with a joint based on a plug-grooveprinciple using cables or cords as the reinforcement of the zone of thejoint.

FIG. 3 shows a conveyor belt with a joint based on a wedge-shapedplug-groove principle; and

FIG. 4 shows a conveyor belt with a joint using wedge-shaped grooves,which are filled with a compound that can be vulcanized.

The following list of reference numerals and symbols is applicable tosaid figures:

1,1′,1″,1′″ Conveyor belt

2 Traction carriers in the form of cables or cords

3 Conveyor belt carriers

4,4′,4″,4′″ Joint between the center part and the two side parts

5,5 ′ Reinforcement of the zone of the joint

6 Joint

7 Carrying side

8 Running side

9 Groove

10 Vulcanizable compound

A Center part of the conveyor belt

A′ Side part of the conveyor belt

B Overall width of the conveyor belt

X Center plane of the conveyor belt

According to FIG. 1, the two side parts A′ of the conveyor belt 1 areprovided with the embedded traction carriers 2 in the form of steelcables or steel cords. An embedded conveyor belt carrier 3 made offabric is located within the center part A, which is free of tractioncarriers. Since the center part A substantially has no traction-carryingfunction, it can be connected in the traveling direction in a simplemechanical way.

The mechanical joint 4 of the center part A with the two side parts A′,which is shown here only once, is made on the basis of a plug-grooveprinciple, which is designed in such a way that the groove and thecorresponding plug part are aligned in the direction of the carryingside 7 or running side 8 of the conveyor belt. The groove and thecorresponding plug part each have a substantially trapezoidal crosssectional shape.

An angle-shaped part 5 serving as the reinforcing element and extendingin the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belt is arranged withinthe zone of the joint, said shaped part particularly consisting of asteel fabric.

Furthermore, the joint 4 of the center part A with the two side parts A′is designed in such a way that a smooth surface is produced in the jointsite 6 in relation to the carrying side 7 and the running side 8 of theconveyor belt 1. In this way, no material-wearing relative motions canoccur.

The transverse forces are primarily transmitted in the center plane X ofthe conveyor belt, where the traction carriers 2 are located. Thematerial is under pressure in the visible sites of the joint. For thisreason, traction or minor bending stresses will not cause the sites ofthe joint to open. The pressure is maintained by excess rubber ormaterial similar to rubber.

Now, FIG. 2 shows a conveyor belt 1′, whereby the joint 4 of the centerpart A with the two side parts A′ is produced based on a plug-grooveprinciple as well. In the present embodiment, the groove and thecorresponding plug part change into one another substantially in theform of a wave.

Two cables 5′ or cords extending in the longitudinal direction of theconveyor belt are arranged within the joint 4′, said cables or cordsleading to a reinforcement within the zone of the joint.

According to FIG. 3, the conveyor belt 1′ has a joint 4″, which isproduced based on a plug-groove principle in the present case as well.As opposed to the exemplified embodiments according to FIGS. 1 and 2,however, the groove and the corresponding plug part are aligned in thedirection of the center part A, specifically in connection with asubstantially wedge-shaped construction. The deepest point of thegroove, or the peak of the corresponding plug part are in thisconnection located approximately at the level of the center plane X ofthe conveyor belt.

FIG. 4, now, shows a conveyor belt 1′″ based on an entirely differentconnection principle. The joint 4′″ of the center part A with the twoside parts A′ is established in each case by means of the two grooves 9,which are located within the zone of the joint and extend from thecarrying side 7, on the one hand, and also from the running side 8, onthe other hand, in the direction of the center plane X of the conveyorbelt. The grooves are provided with a substantially wedge-like shape.Said grooves are filled with a compound that can be vulcanized, so thatan effective joint is formed following the vulcanization step.

In the exemplified embodiments according to FIGS. 1 to 4, the centerpart A has a width amounting to 0.3 to 0.8 times the overall width B ofthe conveyor belt 1, 1′, 1″ and 1′″. The overall width B relates in thisconnection exclusively to the conveyor belt without any lateral parts ofthe installation that may be present, i.e. as shown, for example inDE-B-1 148 181 cited above.

What is claimed is:
 1. A conveyor belt made from an elastic material,the belt comprising: a) a replaceable center part of said conveyor belt;b) a plurality of side parts; c) a plurality of traction carriers whichare formed from a plurality of steel cables and disposed in saidconveyor belt; and d) a mechanical joint which joins said replaceablecenter part with said plurality of side parts, said mechanical jointcomprising a plug and a groove which couple together to form aconnection wherein said groove and said corresponding plug each have asubstantially trapezoidal cross-section.
 2. The conveyor belt as inclaim 1 further comprising a reinforcement material disposed in saidmechanical joint for reinforcing said mechanical joint.
 3. The conveyorbelt as in claim 2 wherein said reinforcement material comprises steel.4. A conveyor belt made from an elastic material, the belt comprising:a) a replaceable center part of said conveyor belt; b) a plurality ofside parts; c) a plurality of traction carriers which are formed from aplurality of steel cables and disposed in said conveyor belt; and d) amechanical joint which joins said replaceable center part with saidplurality of side parts, said mechanical joint comprising a plug and agroove which couple together to form a connection; and e) at least oneangle shaped reinforcement disposed in said mechanical joint whereinsaid at least one angled reinforcement is for reinforcing saidmechanical joint.
 5. The conveyor belt according to claim 4, whereinsaid at least one angle shaped reinforcement is made from steel fabric.6. The conveyor belt as in claim 1, wherein said mechanical jointincluding said plug and said groove join said replaceable center partwith said side parts to form a substantially smooth surface for acarrying side of the conveyor belt.
 7. A conveyor belt made from anelastic material, the belt comprising: a) a plurality of tractioncarriers which are formed from a plurality of steel cables and disposedin said elastic material; b) a replaceable center part of said conveyorbelt; c) a plurality of side parts; d) a mechanical joint which joinssaid replaceable center part with said plurality of side parts, whereinsaid traction carriers are exclusively located in said plurality of sideparts; and e) a conveyor belt carrier comprising a fabric and embeddedin said replaceable center part.
 8. The conveyor belt as in claim 4,wherein said conveyor belt carrier includes at least one fabric layer.9. The conveyor belt as in claim 5, wherein said conveyor belt carrierincludes no more than six fabric layers.
 10. The conveyor belt as inclaim 5, wherein said conveyor belt carrier comprises at least onematerial selected from the group consisting of polyamide, polyester,synthetic silk, rayon, cotton, aramide, or steel.